Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/811

 SOCIAL ASSIMILA TION 797

means, and thus assimilation is accelerated through deliberate, purposive action on the part of the state. In all early civiliza- tions class, rather than national, homogeneity is the desideratum. As long as the majority of the people are dependent on the ruling class for life in this world and the priestly class for deliverance from the evils of the next, it is necessary that all within the gov- erned class shall think alike. No original thought can be toler- ated, and effort is made to mold all in a common form through the imposition of customary law.

Since stability is the essential feature in the early history of the state, since the establishment of political unity, military dis- cipline, and security from outside attack is the aim, the effort of these days is, as Bagehot puts it, to cement a " cake of custom" 1 over the group. The food to be eaten, the costumes to be worn, the ceremonies to be observed, the callings to be followed, are all prescribed. This rigid custom rule accomplishes beautifully the desired end, that all within a class shall think alike, feel alike, act alike, and is appropriate to the stage of nation-making, where class-homogeneity is essential. But, if carried beyond its proper stage, it stops the very process it started progress; it destroys the very structure it helped to erect. Many groups enforced the custom rule so thoroughly that they were caught in the meshes of their own net and held fast. The object-lessons offered on this point by China, Spain, and Peru are familiar. Custom is thus all-binding in these early days and produces a formal unity within the class. Imitation of one class by another is not tolerated, however, and interclass assimilation does not occur. Custom is one of the greatest of all assimilating forces in ancient times, but while it cements firmly all within the class, it holds class apart from class.

Religion is the other chief agent made use of by civilizations, in the early stage of their development, for the purpose of assimi- lation. After the conquest the gods of the ruler become the national gods. " To have the same gods, to be watched, loved, and protected by the same deities, to be destined to join the

1 Physics and Politics, pp. 27, 53. See especially chapters on "Nation Making," pp. 81-155.